A Study to Assess Knowledge and Practices of Refrigerator Use in a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India
Guruprasad Thimmaiah, Pankaj Arora, Saru SethiAbstract
Background:
Refrigerators are essential in hospitals for storing medicines, vaccines, blood products, and patient-specific items. Despite their critical role in infection prevention and patient safety, refrigerator practices in healthcare settings—particularly in resource-limited countries—remain poorly studied. This study aimed to assess knowledge and practices related to refrigerator use in patient care areas of a tertiary hospital in North India.
Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2024 across wards, intensive care units, and accident and emergency departments of a tertiary care hospital. Data collection involved a checklist assessing compliance with recommended practices and a structured knowledge questionnaire administered to nursing staff.
Results:
Highest adherence was observed for exclusion of expired blood products (100%), regular cleaning (100%), and refrigerator seals (93.2%), while shelf labeling (6.82%), temperature log maintenance (6.82%), and biohazard labeling (15.91%) showed extremely poor compliance. Improper practices such as storing medicines with specimens (68.2%) and inadequate refrigerator labeling (43.18%) were common. The knowledge questionnaire revealed low understanding, with a mean score of 3.67 ± 1.37. Compliance did not differ significantly by age, department, or education level.
Conclusion:
This study provides preliminary evidence of substantial deficiencies in refrigerator use and staff knowledge in a resource-limited hospital setting. Compared to international studies, significant gaps in training and oversight were evident. Targeted interventions—including standard operating procedure-based training, temperature logbooks, audits, and low-cost digital monitoring—are urgently needed to improve refrigerator management, reduce infection risks, and enhance patient safety in similar healthcare contexts.